KR101335512B1 - M2M router device using Android-based common platform - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a technology for providing an Android-based hardware / software platform that can be commonly used in various M2M devices. Specifically, the present invention configures a common M2M platform consisting of a lightweight modem layer and a middleware platform for Android to run on a native operating system other than Linux, so that developers can share the application with various M2M devices. It provides a computer-readable recording medium recording an Android-based common platform program for an M2M device that provides sufficient convenience for development and an M2M router device using the same.

Description

M2M router device using Android-based common platform}

The present invention relates to a technology for providing an Android-based hardware / software platform that can be commonly used in various M2M devices. Specifically, the present invention configures a common M2M platform consisting of a lightweight modem layer and a middleware platform for Android to run on a native operating system other than Linux, so that developers can share the application with various M2M devices. It provides a computer-readable recording medium recording an Android-based common platform program for an M2M device that provides sufficient convenience for development and an M2M router device using the same.

With the development of current technology, users' desire for machine-to-machine services (M2M) is increasing. M2M is a remote management and control solution that supports communication between machines by linking M2M module and M2M device using wired / wireless communication method in general wired / wireless network. In a broad sense, it means wired / wireless communication between electronic devices or communication between a device controlled by a person and a machine. However, in recent years, a general term refers to wireless communication between electronic devices and electronic devices, that is, devices.

In other words, M2M is a remote management and control solution that supports communication for data transmission between multiple devices, typically between devices and servers, using wired or wireless communication. The M2M is implemented by attaching a module dedicated to the M2M to a device that does not include a communication function. Various applications may be installed and driven in the M2M module to fit the function of the device to be connected, thereby achieving the purpose of the M2M.

In general, by attaching a wireless modem to electronic devices (devices) such as various sensors, a server of a remote site can receive data of the device or control the device. In order to achieve functions such as remote meter reading and remote bus location, the information of the device is collected remotely or the device is directly controlled remotely if necessary.

Conventionally, in order to implement M2M in a specific field, it is necessary to identify the types of devices involved and to develop M2M wireless modem and related software accordingly. That is, as conceptually shown in FIG. 1, hardware platforms and software 111, 112; 121, 122; 131, 132 are developed and used for each device 110, 120, and 130 individually. For each device, custom software 111, 121, 131 and M2M modem related firmware / middleware 112, 122, 132 are separately developed. As such, it is a common form of the prior art to develop hardware platforms and software for each specific device.

As described above, in the conventional technology of developing hardware platforms and software individually, the development cost of the M2M device is not only high, but there is a problem of the subsequent maintenance or technical support costs. If multiple devices are used in a single project, the cost of hardware platform and software development can be incurred, but a project using relatively few devices can hardly afford such costs. For example, if a business has just started a franchise business and has not yet secured enough franchisees, it is not appropriate in view of the size of the business, even if the prior art is not able to pay the related hardware / software development cost or even if it does. I'm ready to.

Due to the excessive cost of hardware / software development, although M2M technology has many advantages, it is a significant obstacle to widespread use in various fields. Accordingly, there is a demand for technology development that can solve the problems of the prior art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technology that provides an Android-based hardware / software platform that can be commonly used in various M2M devices. Specifically, by building a common M2M platform consisting of a lightweight modem layer and a middleware platform for Android to run on a native operating system other than Linux, developers can use it for various M2M devices in common, and developers only need to develop custom applications for individual devices. The present invention provides a computer-readable recording medium recording an Android-based common platform program for an M2M device that provides convenience, and an M2M router device using the same.

In order to achieve the above object, a computer-readable recording medium recording an Android-based common platform program for an M2M device according to the present invention is installed in an M2M device connected to an external sensor device 410 so that an external M2M control center In order to implement an M2M application providing an M2M service with respect to 430, a plurality of Androids may include a digital interface library for connecting with an external sensor device and a network communication library for connecting with an external M2M control center 430. An M2M application framework 422 having a class library for providing an Android API required for executing an M2M application on an Android basis; Provides hardware management of one or more of file system, memory allocation, digital interface, network communication, basic library, timer, and device control, but provides Linux standard API for hardware management of M2M devices required for Android-based execution. A porting layer 425 providing translation by utilizing code dependent on the operating system 426; Access the hardware resources of the M2M device through the Linux standard APIs provided by the porting layer 425 and utilize one or more of the platform independent modules: thread management module, dynamic library management module, external function interface, synchronization module, memory management module. A virtual machine 423 for implementing the Android class library of the M2M application framework 422 to run on a native operating system 426 other than Linux; A native library 424 provided by a native operating system 426 other than Linux to provide basic functions based on the Android class library of the M2M application framework 422 through the Linux standard API provided by the porting layer 425. It is configured by.

In the present invention, the M2M application framework 422 is a connection manager library for managing a network communication connection with the M2M control center 430 and a remote control and remote status information collection library for implementing control from the M2M control center 430 It is preferably configured to include. In addition, the present invention preferably further comprises a sensor application layer 421 for implementing the M2M application of the external sensor device 410.

In order to achieve this object, the M2M router device equipped with the Android-based common platform according to the present invention is connected to the external sensor device 410 to mediate the sensor device 410 and the external M2M control center 430 An Android based device comprising: a digital interface module 521 for connecting with a sensor device 410; A network communication module 530 for connecting with the M2M control center 430; A native hardware layer 427 for directly controlling the digital interface module 521 and the network communication module 530; The execution of the application processor 522 provides overall resource management of the M2M router device and controls the hardware of the M2M router device including the digital interface module 521 and the network communication module 530 through the native hardware layer 427. Native operating system 426; Android-based common platform for M2M devices according to the present invention, which implements an M2M application providing M2M service between them via a sensor device 410 and an M2M control center 430 on a native operating system 426 other than Linux. And a computer readable recording medium recording a program. In the present invention, the digital interface module 521 for connecting the M2M router device and the sensor device is preferably configured to include a universal serial bus (USB).

According to the common M2M platform technology of the present invention, by providing a common platform and development environment (SDK) for M2M for individual devices, M2M development cost is lowered, so that the M2M module can be conveniently developed even in a small project, thereby applying M2M technology. There is an advantage that can significantly expand the field. In the prior art, M2M development was carried out individually for each device type, so the profitability was met only when producing a large amount of M2M devices. Therefore, when the number of M2M devices of the same model is small, it is virtually impossible to apply M2M technology.

In addition, according to the common M2M platform technology of the present invention by configuring a common M2M platform consisting of a lightweight modem layer and middleware platform Android to run on a native operating system other than Linux to apply the common platform of the present invention to all devices It has the advantage of being considerate.

1 is a diagram conceptually showing the configuration of hardware and software in an M2M device according to the prior art.
2 is a diagram conceptually showing a configuration to which a common platform is applied in an M2M device according to the present invention;
3 is a diagram conceptually showing the overall configuration of an M2M service system constructed in accordance with the present invention;
4 is a view showing in detail an example of a software configuration of the M2M router in the present invention.
5 is a view showing an example of a hardware configuration of the M2M router in the present invention.
6 is a view showing an example of a lightweight API provided by the common M2M platform according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings will be described in detail the present invention. It should be noted that the same configurations of the drawings denote the same reference numerals as possible whenever possible. In addition, specific details are set forth in the following description, which is provided to help a more general understanding of the present invention, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. Will do. In the following description of the present invention, detailed descriptions of related well-known functions or configurations will be omitted when it is determined that the detailed descriptions may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention.

1 is a diagram conceptually showing the configuration of hardware and software in an M2M device according to the prior art, and FIG. 2 is a diagram conceptually illustrating a configuration to which a common platform is applied in an M2M device according to the present invention. It looks at the features of the present invention shown in [2] compared to [1].

Referring to FIG. 1, in the related art, the custom software 111, 121, and 131 and the firmware / middleware 112, 122, and 132 related to the M2M modem are separately developed for each device 110, 120, and 130. There was a problem that the cost and maintenance costs are quite high.

On the other hand, referring to Figure 2 is characterized in that the present invention employs a common M2M platform 240 that can be used in common for the various devices (210, 220, 230), accordingly development costs and maintenance costs This becomes relatively inexpensive. The common M2M platform 240 according to the present invention is based on Android and is made by installing a portable Android platform (PAF) platform 212, 222, 232 and a modem 213, 222, 233 for a device. The PAF platforms 212, 222, and 232 are commonly designed software middleware, and the modems 213, 222, and 233 are designed to communicate with a remote M2M control center (to be described later).

According to the structure of the present invention, even if employing various types of sensor devices (214, 224, 234) for M2M service, only the custom application (211, 221, 231) need to be designed for each device while employing the common M2M platform 240 . For example, even if a camera, a fingerprint reader, and a gas detector are used as the sensor devices 214, 224, and 234, the common M2M platform 240 can be used as it is, and only custom applications 211, 221, and 231 for M2M services are provided. ) Only need to be designed for cameras, fingerprint readers, gas detectors.

3 is a diagram conceptually showing an overall configuration of an M2M service system constructed according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the M2M service system according to the present invention includes a plurality of M2M devices 210, 220, and 230, an M2M control center 330, an M2M customer interface 341, and an M2M control console 342. It is done by The individual M2M devices 210, 220, and 230 are configurations in which the M2M routers 312, 322, and 332 are connected to the sensor devices 214, 224, and 234 by, for example, a universal serial bus (USB), and the M2M controller 330. ) Includes a database 331 for efficiently managing various data provided from these M2M devices 210, 220, and 230.

First, the sensor devices 214, 224, and 234 are devices for acquiring various data to provide M2M service, and correspond to devices such as a camera, a fingerprint reader, and a gas meter. The sensor devices 214, 224, 234 have a digital interface (eg USB) for connecting to an external device.

The M2M routers 312, 322, and 332 connect the sensor devices 214, 224, and 234 with an external M2M control center 330 through a wired or wireless network, thereby providing M2M service to the sensor devices 214, 224, and 234. Make it possible. The M2M routers 312, 322, 332 have various middleware and preferably applications (APP) for M2M services as well as connections with wired and wireless networks. Wired and wireless networks may be network technologies such as wired LAN and wireless LAN, and various mobile communication technologies such as CDMA, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, and Wibro may be applied.

The M2M control center 330 is a server that controls and manages these M2M devices 210, 220, 230 and remotely monitors their operation. The M2M control center 330 performs operations such as remote control, remote status information collection, statistics and reports, fault diagnosis, reset (initialization), software remote update, and environment setting for the M2M devices 210, 220, and 230. Can be.

The M2M control center 330 is connected to the M2M control console 342 and a wired or wireless network, through which the M2M control console 342 can directly monitor and control the M2M devices 210, 220, and 230. The M2M devices 210, 220, and 230 may be managed overall. The M2M control center 330 provides an open API, through which the M2M customer interface 341 may develop various customer services through the M2M service.

4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration of the M2M router 420 in detail in the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, the M2M router 420 is a device that intervenes between the sensor device 410 and the M2M control center 430.

The M2M router 420 includes a native operating system 426 and a native hardware layer 427 for basic system operation. In addition, the M2M router 420 for the M2M service is provided with a common M2M platform 450 and the sensor application layer 421 according to the present invention. At this time, the common M2M platform 450 according to the present invention is provided with an M2M application framework 422, a Dalvik virtual machine 423, a native library 424, a porting layer 425.

First, the native operating system 426 generally becomes an embedded real-time operating system corresponding to a processor used in the M2M router 420, and a dedicated operating system other than Linux is expected to be used. . In the Android platform, Linux is basically assumed to be used as an operating system, but Linux is not suitable for M2M router 420 because of its large capacity and very heavy software. Accordingly, the present invention assumes an embedded real-time operating system other than Linux as the native operating system 426.

The native hardware layer 427 includes firmware modules for various hardware used in the M2M router 420.

The common M2M platform 450 is common software used to provide the M2M service to the sensor device 410, and it is assumed that the present invention is based on Android. Android is a platform for smartphones that has been proven to be stable and has a lot of developer resources, and the APIs for sensors, USB, security, and networks required for the M2M platform are already well organized. The common M2M platform 450 includes an M2M application framework 422, a Dalvik virtual machine 423, a native library 424, and a porting layer 425, preferably Android Open Source. Can be implemented by reducing the weight.

The porting layer 425 performs a function of allowing an Android-based application program to run on a native operating system 426 other than Linux, and may also be called an adaptation layer. Porting layer 425 provides hardware management of one or more of file system, memory allocation, digital interface, network communication, basic library, timer, and device control. In particular, the porting layer 425 converts and provides the Linux standard API for hardware management of the M2M router 420 required for Android-based execution utilizing code dependent on the native operating system 426. That is, since the Android-based application program is written based on the Linux standard API, the porting layer 425 implements these Linux standard APIs using native APIs provided by the native operating system 426.

The Dalvik virtual machine 423 accesses the hardware resources of the M2M router 420 through the Linux standard API provided by the porting layer 425, thereby providing platform independent modules such as thread management module, dynamic library management module, and external function interface. By using one or more of a synchronization module and a memory management module, the Android class library of the M2M application framework 422 is implemented to run on the native operating system 426.

The native library 424 accesses the hardware resources of the M2M router 420 through the Linux standard API provided by the porting layer 425, thereby allowing various kinds of libraries based on the Android class library of the M2M application framework 422. Basic functionality is provided on the native operating system 426.

The M2M application framework 422 includes a number of Android class libraries for providing M2M services. The Android class library basically includes a digital interface library for connecting with the sensor device 410 and a network communication library for connecting with the M2M control center 430 at a remote location. Referring to FIG. Camera, NFC, GPS, USB, sensor), security-related class libraries (PKI, SSL, TLS), and class libraries for communication protocols (SIP, HTTP, TCP / IP). In addition, the M2M application framework 422 includes a connection manager library for managing network communication connections with the M2M control center 430 and a remote control and remote status information collection library for implementing control from the M2M control center 430. It is preferable to provide.

The sensor application layer 421 is an application program that implements various M2M services to be provided by the developer for the individual sensor device 410, and corresponds to the custom applications 211, 221, and 231 in FIG. 2. Various M2M applications of the sensor application layer 421 are implemented through the common M2M platform 450 and finally run on the native operating system 426 via the porting layer 425.

According to the software structure of the M2M router 420 as described above, the native operating system 426, the native hardware layer 427, and the common M2M platform 450 is a kind of sensor device 410 to the desired M2M service and Is irrelevant at all. On the other hand, the sensor application layer 421 must be developed separately according to the type of sensor device 410 or the desired M2M service. Therefore, according to the technique of the present invention, since the sensor application layer 421 needs to be developed while using most of the software as it is, the development process is very easy and costs are low. In addition, since most of them are common parts, they also provide advantages in terms of maintenance.

5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the M2M router 420 in the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the M2M router 420 is composed of an application processor (AP) board 520 and a wide area network (WAN) board 530. The AP board 520 includes a USB module 521 to connect with an external sensor device 410 and includes an application processor 522 to implement the software operation described above with reference to FIG. 4. In addition, the WAN board 530 includes an RF module 531 and a WAN modem 532 to perform network communication with a remote M2M control center 430.

Looking at the hardware configuration of the M2M router 420 it can be seen that most of the sensor device 410 is not related. Accordingly, according to the present invention, the M2M router 420, which is prepared in general for the sensor device 410 to provide the M2M service, is connected to the general-purpose serial bus, and the sensor application layer 421 among the software of the application processor 522. ) Only need to create and download and install.

In the present invention, since the hardware of the M2M router 420 is a general-purpose, it can be prepared in large quantities in advance and used at that time, so that the price of the M2M router 420 can be kept low even in a small project. In addition, since the hardware of the M2M router 420 can be standardized in general, it is advantageous in terms of maintenance.

6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a lightweight API provided by the common M2M platform 450 according to the present invention.

The public M2M platform 450 of the present invention is based on Android, but not all APIs included in the Google Android package are required, and only a part can provide M2M services sufficiently. Rather, the Google Android package is a bit heavy to install in a small embedded device, such as M2M router 420, so it needs to be lightweight.

6 shows an example of such a lightweight API. The M2M router 420 can provide enough M2M service only by using the APIs shown in FIG. 6, and other APIs and program codes related to other APIs can be removed, thereby reducing the weight of the common M2M platform 450 together. There is an advantage.

The present invention can also be embodied in the form of computer readable code on a computer readable recording medium. A computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording apparatuses in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored.

Examples of computer-readable recording media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, and the like, including those implemented in the form of carrier waves (eg, transmission over the Internet). . The computer-readable recording medium can also be stored and executed by a computer-readable code in a distributed manner on a networked computer system. And functional programs, codes, and code segments for implementing the present invention can be easily deduced by programmers skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs.

As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed in the present specification and drawings, and although specific terms have been used, they have been used only in a general sense to easily describe the technical contents of the present invention and to facilitate understanding of the invention. And is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other modifications based on the technical idea of the present invention are possible in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

210, 220, 230: device
240: common M2M platform
211, 221, 231: Custom Application (APP)
212, 222, 232: PAF Platform
213, 223, 233: modem layer
214, 224, 234: sensor device
312, 322, 332, 420: M2M Router
330, 430: M2M Control Center
331: Database
341: M2M customer interface
342: M2M Control Console
421: sensor application layer
422: M2M Application Framework
423: Dalvik Virtual Machine (VM)
424 native library
425: porting layer
426: Native operating system
427 native hardware layer

Claims (6)

delete delete delete As an M2M router device that mediates an external sensor device 410 and an external M2M control center 430,
A digital interface module 521 for connecting with the sensor device 410;
A network communication module 530 for connecting with the M2M control center 430;
A native hardware layer 427 for directly controlling the digital interface module 521 and the network communication module 530;
The M2M router device including the digital interface module 521 and the network communication module 530 through the native hardware layer 427 provides overall resource management of the M2M router device through the execution of an application processor 522. A native operating system 426 that controls the hardware of the;
Digital interface for connecting the sensor device to implement the M2M application that provides M2M service between the sensor device 410 and the M2M control center 430 on the native operating system 426 other than Linux. An M2M application framework 422 including an Android class library including a library and a network communication library for connecting to the M2M control center 430 and providing an Android API required to execute the M2M application on an Android basis; Linux standard APIs for hardware management of the M2M devices required for Android-based execution, providing hardware management of one or more of: file system, memory allocation, digital interface, network communication, basic library, timer, and device control. Accesses hardware resources of the M2M device through a porting layer 425 providing conversion by utilizing code dependent on the native operating system 426 of the M2M device, and a Linux standard API provided by the porting layer 425. The Android class library of the M2M application framework 422 may be converted into a native operating system other than Linux using one or more of a platform independent module, a thread management module, a dynamic library management module, an external function interface, a synchronization module, and a memory management module. The basic functions based on the Android class library of the M2M application framework 422 through the Linux standard API provided by the virtual machine 423 and the porting layer 425 are implemented. Nati provided by the native operating system (426) Android-based having a library 424, the common platform (450);
A sensor application layer 421 executed on the native operating system 426 through the porting layer 425 to implement an M2M application of the external sensor device 410 through the common platform 450;
M2M router device equipped with an Android-based public platform that is configured to include.
The method of claim 4,
The digital interface module (521) M2M router device equipped with an Android-based public platform, characterized in that comprises a USB module.
The method of claim 4,
The M2M application framework 422 is a connection manager library for managing a network communication connection with the M2M control center 430 and a remote control and remote state information collection library for implementing control from the M2M control center 430. M2M router device equipped with a public platform based on Android, characterized in that the configuration, including.

Images